Northwest Washington Fair caps centennial year, surpasses 216,000 visitors
Posted on 23. Aug, 2010 by ryanwynne in News
The Bellingham Business Journal
The Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden concluded its centennial celebration Saturday, Aug. 21 by drawing 41,725 visitors, the highest daily attendance of the six-day fair.
The fair ended with a total attendance of 216,507, about 1 percent higher than last year. The carnival and food concessions reported similar increases, fair manager Jim Baron [...]
Scratch and Peck caters to urban farmers
Posted on 23. Aug, 2010 by Isaac Bonnell in New Businesses
As more people are starting to keep backyard chickens, Diana Ambauen-Meade sees a growing market for her whole-grain chicken feed. She opened her own feed processing mill Aug. 23 in Irongate.
Barbie’s Berries turns out fruits of its labor
Posted on 06. Aug, 2010 by Lance Henderson in Features
Barb Kraght, owner of Barbie’s Berries in Ferndale, opened the berry farm in 1996 mostly as a hobby. But now it has grown to employ 50 people during the strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and blueberry harvests. To learn more, watch the video.
Small local businesses may seek disaster relief funds
Posted on 12. Jul, 2010 by ryanwynne in News
The Bellingham Business Journal
Non-farm businesses that suffered economic losses due to the freezing conditions and record low temperatures Oct.10-13, 2009, now have access to financial relief through low interest loans.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million for small agricultural cooperatives, private nonprofit organizations of any [...]
County food producers limited by processing barriers
Posted on 12. Jul, 2010 by Isaac Bonnell in Features
Local food processors face many challenges. They are in competition with large-scale producers, whose abundance of resources allow them to offer prices small-scale producers can’t. But that’s not their only obstacle: Whacom County food growers have limited access to facilities where they can process the fruits of their labor.
Farm jobs up 7% in 2009
Posted on 09. Jul, 2010 by Isaac Bonnell in News
The Bellingham Business Journal
Washington state produced a bumper crop of agricultural jobs in 2009, according to a new report by the Employment Security Department.
Employment in agriculture increased 7 percent last year, to 102,530 jobs, according to the report. Agricultural employment is a combination of seasonal and non-seasonal jobs, but the increase in 2009 was driven [...]
Local farmers plan to buy Keizer Meats
Posted on 23. Jun, 2010 by ryanwynne in News
By Ryan Wynne
When Sherry and George Keizer originally decided to sell their USDA-certified meat processing facility for $1.6 million three months ago, they didn’t have one interested buyer. Now, they have about 40.
The 15-year-old business was at capacity last year and is in the process of expanding due to high demand. However, it’s not just [...]
Lynden manure digester breaks ground
Posted on 22. Jun, 2010 by Isaac Bonnell in News
By Isaac Bonnell
Whatcom County’s second manure digester broke ground June 28 at 8421 Bob Hall Road in Lynden.
The $3.9 million project will take the manure from 2,000 nearby dairy cows and use the methane extracted from the manure to produce about 6 million killowatt-hours of electricity per year, enough to power 500 homes.
What makes this [...]
Find fresh produce with online farm map
Posted on 16. Jun, 2010 by Isaac Bonnell in Tips
The Bellingham Business Journal
Fresh fruit and produce are abundant in Whatcom County and now they are easier to find thanks to an interactive online map put together by NW Farms & Food.
The map is a searchable guide to more than 100 farms in Whatcom County and gives descriptions of each farm and the type of [...]
Video: Inspiration Farm & Gossamer Glass Studios
Posted on 09. Jun, 2010 by Lance Henderson in Features
Brian Kerkvliet and his family run Inspiration Farm, a multi-faceted business which includes Gossamer Glass Studios and also teaches sustainable living techniques through various classes.
